Investigating the Management of COVID-19 Pandemic Risks in Primary Schools: A Case of Public Primary Schools in Lindi Region, Southern Tanzania

The spread of COVID-19 in the year 2020 put various nations at risk, especially in social, economic, and educational aspects. School closure was employed as one of the response measures against the spread of this virus. However, the measure imposed high social and educational risks with consequences of a massive drop academically. This study investigated the management of the COVID-19 pandemic risks in primary schools in the Lindi region in Tanzania intending to suggest the essence of having a risk management plan for indeterminate outbreaks and other uncertainties to avoid the recurrence of the risks. The study adopted a qualitative case study design which allowed an in-depth data collection through one-on-one interviews and observation methods. Thematic analysis was adopted to analyze the data for this inquiry. Findings revealed that the targeted schools were able to manage the COVID-19 pandemic risks even though the management was done locally due to the lack of risk management plans in the schools. Furthermore, it was discovered that there was no budget set to deal with the emerging risks. Headteachers from the investigated schools went as far as using part of their salaries to tackle the emerging risks as a result of school closure. Additionally, findings also revealed that during school closure teachers were unprepared on how to conduct the teaching and learning processes amongst the pupils through distance mode. Despite several endeavors to try to ensure pupils continue to learn in their homes, the strategies were not successful due to inadequate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) knowledge and skills among the teachers, parents, and pupils as well as insufficient supportive distance learning infrastructures such as ICT equipment and the internet. Consequently, proper implementation of distance teaching and learning during school closure was impaired due to the lack of risk management plans in schools. It is recommended that the risk management plan be developed to ensure that teaching and learning processes are never hampered by emergencies

MEWAKA National Teacher Development Reform in Tanzania: Design-Based Implementation Research: Cycle 1 Findings

MEWAKA (Mafunzo Endelevu kwa Walimu Kazini, or Teacher Continuous Professional Development [TCPD]) is a landmark, school-based teacher professional development programme being implemented nationally by the Government of Tanzania, with the ultimate aim of raising learning outcomes in schools. EdTech Hub, Aga Khan University, and the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE) are conducting research to iteratively enhance the MEWAKA implementation at primary school level and to understand the role that technology can play in scaling TCPD. This report presents the findings and recommendations from the first cycle of design-based implementation research (DBIR) conducted in rural schools in the Lindi region. Following a pilot peer facilitator workshop, data was collected through observation and self-reporting methods between September and December 2022. The aims were to capture stakeholders\u27 perspectives at all levels of the education system and to see how schools are implementing the programme on the ground. The emerging findings and recommendations are being used to inform the redesign and further implementation of this TCPD model, and were used to identify key areas to test and investigate in the second cycle of the DBIR in 2023

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security